I love this last point... it is extremely important for you to visualize
yourself as the person in charge of manning the "listening post" opposite the
person you are talking to. Your mission is to gather information 1st, then share data
2nd... not the other way around. How do you know what your prospects hot buttons are? How
do you know what will motivate them to take action, (buying your product or sponsoring
with you).
Are you the type of person that just "brain dumps" everything
you know about your company hoping you hit one of their hot buttons in the process? This
method is the most widely used in sharing MLM business opportunities and the least
effective. This is the, "throw it up against the wall and see if anything
sticks" approach. Sure it's a numbers game... but intelligently planned presentations
are the key to your ultimate success. Being lucky is great, but developing the art of
listening is critical to your overall success in this industry.
Career Professional Network Marketers are accomplished listeners. Every
personal development teacher I know suggests that one of the key ingredients to achieving
success is by developing the ability to listen to others.
I know you probably agree with me, but wouldn't you also agree that it is
hard for most people to be a good listener? On a scale from 1-10, how would you rate your
listening skills, I mean really. You and I, we all need to keep reminding ourselves that
we have two ears and only one month. God knows best, he designed us for success, our
ego's, our selfishness, our wanting the center-stage, our wanting to continually be heard
just keeps us from taking an interest in what others are saying to us... we keep
overriding our eardrums commands to our brains. Can we solve this problem? Sure.
Let me share with you how I discovered how I could become a better
listener?... maybe you'll find it worthwhile in working your business. Write me with your
success stories. Here's the secret... LEARN TO ASK GOOD
QUESTIONS! It's really that simple. The better your questions, the more successful you
will become at listening to the thoughts and concerns of others.
In the sales or "sharing" environment, most distributors find
themselves talking endlessly about their business opportunity. This is a HUGE mistake.
People (your customers or potential clients) do not want to hear you go on and on about
how great you are, how great your company or product is, or how miserable their life is
without your help.
Take this fun test: Join a group of your friends that are sharing a
conversation and count the number of declarative sentences they use in a row before they
ask a question. A good rule of thumb that I learned from one of my mentors David Cooper,
was 3-6 declarative sentences followed by a question. Every time you ask someone a
meaningful question about what you're talking about, their mind has to subconsciously
review what you have said before they respond. This technique insures that your party is
listening to you and that they understand the point you are attempting to communicate to
them.